Market targeting: How to attract customers over Christmas

The money-making machine that is the festive season is a time for many businesses to be at the top of their game to capitalise on people while they’re at their most generous.

Retailers generate such a large chunk of their annual revenue during this period that many of them wouldn’t be able to survive without it.

So how can you as a retailer make the most of it? Making sure you’re fully stocked and providing the best quality customer service is a start, but there are some extra methods you can adopt to ensure Santa Claus delivers a healthy profit to your business.

5 Christmas money spinners

Sell/offer food

During the festive season, people tend to let go of their eating inhibitions and indulge their tastebuds and stomachs with treats. Some call it “getting into the spirit of Christmas”, when really they’re only giving themselves an excuse to eat as much food as possible in one month, before returning to their dieting ways come January.

People also seem to be hungrier – their minds possessed by supermarket advertising promotions of big family feasts, delicious baked goods and stacks of sweets. There’s so much good food on offer during Christmas, so who can blame people for perhaps eating a little more than they should?

Businesses can take advantage of these hungry desires by selling food in-store – or perhaps having in in-store food demonstration. All Christmas-themed of course, just to remind consumers it’s about “getting into the spirit”, not being greedy.

Start earlier

Many people cringe when they see Christmas setups in some stores as soon as September, but it can pay to start early and send the message out that your store will be the place to shop for gifts this season. Presenting customers with gift ideas sooner can help them budget their festive spending in advance, before returning to your store as planned to make their purchase.

Starting earlier also ensures your business is well prepared with a strong Christmas strategy planned out in advance.

Gift baskets, hampers and bundles

Beautifully packaged Christmassy bundles of goods can be big sellers, with customers willing to fork out bog dollars for the conveneince. Consumers sometimes view these bundles as a way of diversifying the risk of the recipient not liking their gift – since the hamper/basket contains a range of items rather than just the one. So in this case, putting all your gifts into one basket is a good idea (how ironic).

Also, there are many people out there who would happily pay for the convenience of not having to wrap their gifts. You could be surprised by how much more money a well-wrapped Christmas bundle might fetch.

Gift cards

There will always be those that struggle to select gifts for others and those who prefer to choose their own. That’s why gift cards are so popular, even though there’s a divide between those who like receiving them and those who don’t.

During the gift-giving marathon of Christmas, gift cards conveniently located at the counter can be some of the most reached-for items. A business can profit from gift cards for their store because it locks in revenue. Also, since gift card values don’t usually match the prices of goods (how often do you see anything selling for exactly $25 or $50), customers may end up spending more in store than the value of the card because they don’t want to waste any of the money on it. Even if they don’t manage to spend it all, the store still makes a profit. For these reasons, gift cards are a win-win situation for retailers.

Online presence

If they don’t already, traditional bricks and mortar businesses should really consider having an online presence, especially during the festive period. Online stores are popular with people trying to avoid the perils of shopping centres in the lead up to Christmas, such as the rushing crowds, hopelessly filled car parks, monotonous carols and screaming children. Not surprisingly, there are many people who wish to avoid such things, so by not having an online store, your business could be missing out on their dollars.

Also, a business could leverage their Christmas season sales by boosting their promotions online. Including Christmas themes as part of your online marketing helps maintain the business’s relevance to consumers and reminds them that it’s proactively engaged with its customers. Consider sending out a Christmas special offers email or uploading holiday-themed posts to your social media pages.